Toy airplane



. J. R. HARRIS May 5, 1953 TOY AIRPLANE 2 SHEETS-SHEETl Filed Feb. 2,1945 INVENTOR. John R. Harris ATTORNEHS 4)- 5, 1953 J. R. HARRIS2,637,139

TOY AIRPLANE Filed Feb. 2, 1945 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 I02. l \7 l6 M "aINVENTOR.

9 m By John R. Harris 6 G) \zz- 1 ATTO RNEHS Patented May 5, 1953 UNITED8 Claims.

This, invention concerns toy aeroplanes and refers, more particularly,to a toy capable of flight on being swans in a circle at the end of astring, and having a propeller which under such conditions revolves andsimulates on a small scale but with great realism th sound of a realaeroplane engine heard from the ground.

An aeroplane having this and other features was first described by me inU. S. LettersPatent No. 1,776,222. Subject application relates toimprovements in the earlier toy. Chief among the other features justmentioned was that the toy could be assembled from suitably slitted andscored cardboard blanks Without the use of tools or adhesives and withvery few pins or other fastenings.

An object of the present invention is to make the sound emitted by thepropeller a more faithful imitation of the sound of a real engine.

Another object is to decrease the number of blanks necessary forassembling the plane.

Another object is to simplify the contour of the remaining blanks.

Another object is to provide overlapping and interlocking tabs, each ofwhich extends integrally with the plane body for the entire distance ofits opposite end corresponding tab, producing a more rigid interlockingconstruction.

Another object is to reduce. the number of locations at which the blanksmust be interlocked to produce the assembled plane.

Another object is the provision of a connection for the string whichwill permit more intricate f the toy, such as landing it, taxiabove thehead.

, etc will become apparent in the following specification.

In accomplishing the objects of the present invention, it was founddesirable to provide a metallic propeller having re rward facing camsurfaces engaging forward facing metallic cam surfaces attached to thebody of the plane, resulting in axial reciprocation oi the propellerduring revolution, the attendant noise being conducted immediately tothe entire plane body which acts as a sounding board, eliminating theseparate sounding board of the earlier model. The propeller is renderedmore noisy by being mounted slightly eccentrically. A furtherimprovement in the propeller is that the leading edges are rounded,minimizing the possibility of the user being cut by sharp edges. Thisrounding preferably occurs by forming a tube from which the bladestrail, tube constituting a. reinforcement of the propeller along itsentire length.

5 The propelle' shaft 1s more firmly arllxed by being hooked into aspecially provided slot. The simulated engine noise is amplified bymounting the propeller on the apex of a substantially pyramidal. nacellecommunicating with the plane body, whereby a megaphone effect isobtained. The form of the invention comprising a downwardly open bodymoreover re uires no rearward intra-engagement in order to obtainnecessary rigidity. The forward intra-engagement of the body providesthe aforementioned substantially pyramidal nacelle and also providesintegrally an axle housing, eliminating the separate landing frame ofthe former model. In an alternative form, the landing frame has beenprovided with an interengagement with the body to fix it against lateralmovement. Additional motor gondolas, each carrying a propeller, havebeen devised for attachment to the wing, making the plane more noisy andmore visually impressive.

The rudder has been. stabilized in the vertical plane by two pairs ofvertically displaced engagement with other members.

Holes have been located on the wing on either side of. the body and nearthe center of gravity of the completely formed plane for the attachmeritof the string which extends downward through one hole and upward throughthe other ,hole and having each end separatel knotted to prevent itspulling through, thus permitting the toy to be flown in one direction orin the opposite direction by drawing the free length of cord so that itextends through one hole or the hole on the opposite side of the wing.

In operation, the above improvements result in a simpler and more rigidtoy and one which gives off a louder and more realistic simulation ofengine noise and is capable of more extensive maneuvers.

The invention will appear more clearly from the following detaileddescription when taken in connection with the accompanying drawingsshowing, by way of example, preferred embodiments of the inventive idea.

in the drawings:

Figure l is a Vertical median longitudinal section of the toy embodyingthe present invention;

Figure 2 is a section alone the line 2-2 of Figure 1;

Figure 3 Figure 1;

Figure l is a section along Figure 1;

Figure 5 is a plan view of the toy;

Figure 6 is a detail of the propeller mounting;

Figure 'l is a side elevation of the toy;

Figure 8 is a plan view of the cardboard blanks is a section along theline t-t of the line li of and other parts of the plane in flatcondition, as sold.

The parts of the aeroplane, as illustrated in Figure 8, comprise thebody blank I8, Wing I I, extra gondola blanks I2, rudder l3, elevatorI4, propeller I5, stylus I6, resonator I'I, axle I8, and wheels I9. Thebody blank ID has a median longitudinal scored line 20 along what may becalled the backbone of the plane, this being the high portion of theplane as assembled, the material to either side of it being bent downtherefrom to form the sides 2|, 22. The broken lines in Figure 8 onlydenote score lines on the blank rather than hidden lines as usual, thescore lines being indented lines created to facilitate folding of thehat pieces into pieces constituting parts of the toy plane.

Body blank I further has two integral nacelle tabs 23, 24 locatedforwardly and adapted to form the nacelle 25 upon being folded. The tab23 comprises everything outward of the score line 23 on which the slit2'! is located. This includes the triangular portion 28 which has aprojection 29 beyond the short boundaries 3!] and 39A which aresubstantially perpendicular to the side boundary line 3| of the bodyblank ID. The score line 32 at an acute angle to score line 32 and at anoblique angle to boundary 34, and the boundary 36 extending at anoblique angle to the front line 3'! of body blank It), the boundary 38extending substantially parallel to front line 31, and the boundary 39connecting lines 31 and 38. A catch tab 49 is formed at the juncture ofboundaries 34 and 35.

The tab 24 comprises all the material outward of the score line 4|,including the triangle 42, which has a projection 43 beyond the shortboundary 44 which is substantially perpendicular to the side boundaryline 45 of body blank I 0. Tab 24 also includes the rectangular strip 45rearwardly adjacent triangle 42 across score line 4'! and the triangle48 across score line 49. Triangle 48 is bounded outwardly by score lines58, separating it from terminal tabs 52, 53, which are separated fromeach other by slit 54. Lock tab 55 projects from the outward boundaiy 55of triangle 42.

The areas included by the triangle 4B, and the terminal tabs 52 and 53separated by slit 54 combine to form a jam tab, which in folded positionpermits the slit 54 to engage the catch tab 48 of the polygon 33, Whilethe outer boundaries of tabs 52 and 53 bear against the folds on scorelines 26 and 4| respectively and the surface of the triangular area 48bears against the outer boundary 34 of polygon 33 (see Figures 1 and 2).The frictional contact of the aforementioned element causes the jammingeffect to hold these parts in position.

The propeller shaft mounting is provided by three score lines 51, 58,59. The central line 5? is a prolongation of backbone line 20 andperpendicularly bisects the front boundary 31. The side lines 58, 59 arethe sides of an isosceles triangle based online 31, the apex of which ison the backbone line 20, the apex bein cut out to form the rearwardpointing arrowhead 68 and shaft 6 l, the shaft 6|, which is a slot,being symmetrically disposed on the central line 51. Outside the lines58, 59 are the nacelle side portions 82, 63, merging into the body sideportions 2|, 22, respectively.

To the rear of the nacelle sides 62, 63 extend the curved wing slits84-, 65, substantially longitudinally of body Ill. The rearmost portionof the body I8 has the form of a rather blunt trefoil, of which, afterfolding, the outside leaves 66, 6'! represent from either side thesilhouette of the rear wheel of the plane and the central foil 68represents the tail. The rearmost portion of body I 9 also bears theelevator slits 69, l0 and the forward and rear rudder slits ll, 72,respectively.

The wing comprises body engaging tabs l3, l4, and tabs 15 and slots 16for engaging the additional gondolas I2. It also has two small holes,11, WA, to either side of and relatively close to the central pointlaterally of the plane and near the center of gravity of the assembledtoy.

The gondola blanks l2 comprise the central longitudinal belly score linel8, the nac-elle side score lines 19, 88, the center nacelle score line8| in prolongation of line l8, and the rearward facing cut outarrow-head 82 and shank which is a slot, all symmetrically disposed atthe apex of lines it, and on line 8|. Outside the lines '29, 88 are thegondola nacelle side portions 84, 85. Score lines 86, 81' extendrearward substantially perpedicularly to front boundary 88 and outwardof the last mentioned score lines are the substantially triangularnacelle top tabs 89, 98, with forwardly directed apexes and of which thescore lines 88, ill form the hypotenuses. Tab 9| extends from the longside of tab 39 and slot 92 is located on score line 81 longitudinallycoincident with tab 9 Jam tab 33 extends rearwardly from tab 89 andscore line 94. The nacelle tail portion comprises the two substantiallykidneyshaped tail tabs 95, 98 partially articulated by the inwardly andrearwardly extending slits 9T, 98.

The rudder I3 comprises the downward and forward extending tail tab 99and the three winged tab I 80, the latter comprising lobe |0| extendingdownward with its rear surface I 82 substantially at right angles to thelower boundary I3 of the rudder I3. The lobe |ll| terminates forwardlyin a line I04 substantially parallel to the boundary I93, the lower tabI extends downward therefrom substantially perpendicularly andterminates forwardly in a small catch tab I86, whence the forward tabI9! extends substantially horizontally forward, and then back to therudder it, a slit I98 being formed between the two. Forward tab IUl thusengages the two body sides 2!, 22 as they meet at the backbone line 2.

The elevator M has a forward slit I 09, a rear slit I I9, and a tabIIIlA.

As best seen in Figures 1 and 6, the propeller i5 is fabricatedpreferably of light sheet steel by first embossing a longitudinal rib,extending from tip to tip of the propeller blades; the open edges ofsaid rib are then closed to form a substantially cylindrical tube I l l,slightly constricted at each end and suspended slightly eccentrically bythe stylus I6 passing through it. The blades H2, H3, extend rearwardlyfrom this tube Ill with which they are integral, one of them, forinstance I I2, further extending to the right thereof, while the other,H3, extends to the left thereof. A longitudinally central tab H 3extends part way around the tube Iii, being integral with it and adaptedto present an uninterrupted curved cam surface thereon.

The stylus it acts as a fixed shaft on which the propeller I5 looselyrevolves. It may be an ordinary small nail, the body of which includes asquare terminal hook H5 and a slight angle substantially midway betweenthev hoole H6 and the head H8;

The resonator I! may be a well known metallic paper fastener, comprisingan oblong body, central holev I lllwhich is usually diamond shaped, andsomewhat inward of itsv opposite ends, a sharp pin-like or claw-likeprojection Iv and a hole [2L The hole l2! can advantageously be replacedby a second projection, I20.

The. plane is assembled by placing the propeller l5. and resonator l l,bent as in Figure 6, along the. line: 122 of Figure on the, stylus l6-with the. hole. H5 to, the rear and the hole H9 to the front, hookinghook H6, in slot 85-, bending the sides 21,. 2.2 of bodyit downward frombackbone line 2!], simultaneously depressing. central score line 51,.whereby the triangle included in the. score lines. 58,, 5.9 sinks intothe nacelle, frictionally engaging stylus iii along substantially itsentire length and; positively through hook llEi preventing it from.pulling out. All the score lines within or bounding tabs 23 and 24 arethen bent down, tab, 24. is brought over tab 23 and lock tab. 55inserted in slit. 2.1, the polygon 33 then acting as a. reinforcement byextending interiorly to the ridge of the body it and naeelle 25, or frombottom to top thereof.

The body sides. 21-, 22 are thus locked up to form the nacelle 25 byopposite and corresponding tabs 23, 24,, each of which extendsintegrally with the body for the entire length of its opposite andcorresponding. tab. The resonator H is now pressed into. place on thenacelle sides iii 2, 63, as shown in Figure 6, the line i2 2 nowconstituting its front line except that hole I it forms a recess in thatline.

Theboundaries 30, A. and Marc new longitudinally coincident, as well asthe projections as, 4.3. The axle l8. and wheels t9 are now placed overprojections 29, 43 and the triangle es, and

terminal tabs 52, 53 stuffed up into the nacelle,

the triangle d8 resting on the boundary 3t and thetabs 52,, 53 passingto: either side of polygon 33 and extending downward. and outwardtherefrom, while the catch tab All engages the slit 54,

the axle i8 is. thus encased in a housing, (see Figure 1) formed. by theboundaries 36]; 30A, and M forwardly, by projections 29. and. 43 below,by; strip 46 rearwardly and by a portion of triangle 48; at the top.

The tabs i3, 14, of wing; l! arencw bent down.

and, the wing; slipped into the curved Wing slits 5d,, 65, the tabs 13',M,- then being straightened out in order to-iock the wing in placeibyengaging the interior surfaces of the body side portions, 21,, 22..Theiwing H isthus maintained in cambered. shape by the curved wing slits64:, lid, as, best; seen in: Figure 1.

A. propeller, stylus and resonator, assembled as.

above, are next folded into each gondola 12 by placing the stylus Hibelow line 8! and the hook H 5 up through slot 83, bending line 8tupward simultaneously with bendingthe belly line it and. lines 79 and 80downward, folding tab 39 over tab.

99 and doubly lockingthemtogether'by means of tab 9i inserted in slot552 and jam tab 53' folded back along line M to enclose tab 9E.- andsimultaneously jam, against the interior surfaces of the. locked-upgondola nacclle, sides M, 85. The slits 91, 98 are then interengagedwith one of the slots l6 and, the corresponding tab it slipped into thegondola, nacelle under tabs 89, 5t, 93 to lock the gondola. onthewing.

The elevator I4 is slipped through the eleva tor; slits 69, 10 and:forwardly positioned. against lateral movement. by the tab HM.

The forward tab ID] of rudder i3 is inserted in slit ll point foremostand advanced forward and downward as far as possible before bringing therudder to its normal position. A slight up and down rocking motion ofrudder it around the inner end of slit I08 as a pivot will then servesimultaneously to introduce lower tab m5 into slit Hit, lobe ll'il. intoslit TI and tail tab 99 into slits l2 and i H). Rudder i3 is thus lockedagainst forward motion by the interengagement of slits ll andllid, andagainstrearward motion by lob-e It I. engaging slit 1 l substantiallyperpendicularly at. Hi2 and lower tab H15 similarly engaging slit Hit.Rudder I3 is further maintained vertical by both the three winged tabHit and tail tab 99 engaging both the body it and elevator Hi. The slitsHi9, Ht are thus some distance below the slits l I, it and thegeometrical plane which con tains them is substantially vertical.Furthermore, forward tab 'Hll snugly engages the backbone line 2i) ofthe plane interiorly.

A long cord is now passed dovm through one of the holes ll, HA, and upthrough the other, each end then being knotted separately. The result isthat the cord extends between. the holes Ti, HA beneath the wing H, andeither end of it may be drawn out to form a free end extending above thewing l i from either hole I! or NA. 11 the free end extends from hole MAon the right wing or the plane, the plane may be swung in a circle whichpasses from left to right in front of the swinger, while by drawing outthe cord through hole H on the left wing the plane is adapted to beswung in a circle passing from right to left in front of the personswinging it. The above is possible either with or without at taching theextra gondolas l2, but when they are attached, the plane, being heavier,can be swung in a larger circle.

The relative motion between the swung plane and the air through which ittravels causes the propellers I51 to revolve on the Styluses it. It hasbeen noted that the blades H2, H3 extend rearwardfrom the tube ill, andalso laterally therefrom, one blade to the right, the other to the left,both of which bear the same clockwise relation to the tube Hi, thereforeair impinging on these blades from the frontwill cause a revolution of.propeller l5 toward the clear sides of tube Hi opposite. the blades H2,H3, in other words the propeller as viewed. in Figures 6 and 8 wouldtravel counter-clockwise. This is animporta-nt safety feature, astheleading edge of eachblade is the tube Ill, which cannot cause accidentalcuts because it is rounded. A further advantage of the construction isthat a tube is a very strong shape, and will resist deformation in caseof collision.

The propeller 15 in revolving on stylus it bears rearwardly againstresonator ll, which has been designed to present a cammed surface ratherthan a smooth bearing surface, by reason of the hole. H9 which due tothe bending of resonator ljl on line I22. presents from. the side theappearance; of a recess in the front surface of the. resonator ll, intowhich the propeller l5 may settle momentarily when in proper angularrelation,. and out of which it must clunib in order to continuerevolving, The tubular backbone I ll of the propeller I5 is the surfacewhich rides, into and: out of the notched front end of the resonator;l;'!.. The result is a considerablereciprocation of propeller l5 axiallyof stylus: i6,

taking place twice per revolution. This movement of rear surface of thepropeller IS in contact with the depression formed by the hole H9 in theresonator l1 when bent on line I22 gives rise to considerable noise,which is transmitted by the stylus and resonator to the nacelle 25 andbody ill, the nacelle further acting as a megaphone to cast the soundinto the downwardly open plane interior which considered alone ortogether with the nacelle, is a perfect sounding board. Since the hole II by which propeller i5 is suspended on stylus i6 is not quite central,propeller I5 is rendered still more noisy in revolution. The noise givenoff by the plane in flight is similar to the sound of a real miniatureaeroplane engine. At greater speeds, as when swinging the plane with tento fifteen feet of string, a hum develops similar to the propeller noiseof a real plane.

It is apparent that the illustration shown above has been given by wayof illustration and not by way of limitation and that the abovestructure is subject to wide variations and modifications, withoutdeparting from the scope or intent of the present invention. All of suchvariations and modifications are to be included within the scope of thepresent invention.

Wh at is claimed is:

l. A toy aeroplane comprising, in combination with a nacelle portion anda propeller, a stylus constituting a fixed shaft for said propeller,said stylus comprising a head, a propeller supporting portion co-axialwith said head, an angular portion bent from said propeller supportingportion, a substantially square hook at the end of said angular portion,the said nacelle portion having a depression the bottom of which acts asa supporting wall for the angular stylus portion and an anchorage forthe hook.

2. A toy aeroplane comprising, in combination with a nacelle portion anda propeller, a stylus constituting a fixed shaft for said propeller,said stylus comprising a terminal hook portion, said nacelle portioncomprising an opening formed therein, said opening having the shape ofan arrow head and shaft and being symmetrically disposed on a centralscore line and adapted to receive said hook portion, said nacelleportion further comprising integral portions enclosing and frictionallyengaging said stylus substantially along the entire length of saidstylus.

3. A toy aeroplane comprising a body portion of substantially triangularcross section, said body portion comprising an interlocking nacelleportion, said nacelle portion comprising integrally a polygonal portionextending from bottom to top thereof interiorly and constituting areinforcement disposed substantially centrally and longitudinally ofsaid body portion.

a. A toy aeroplane comprising a body portion, said body portioncomprising a median longitudinal line separating said body into two sideportions and constituting a backbone line defined by said side portions,said portions extending downward therefrom, said body portion furthercomprising forward and rear rudder slits formed therein and located onsaid backbone line, said aeroplane further comprising an elevatorlocated below said rudder slits and having forward and rear slits formedtherein, said aeroplane further comprising a rudder, said ruddercomprising a rear tab engaging said two rear slits and a three wingedtab, said three winged tab having q O i) two portions engaging said twoforward slits and also having a portion engaging said side portions atsaid backbone line.

5. A body blank for a toy aeroplane comprising an elongated piece ofsheet material, said blank comprising a body portion having formedtherein a median longitudinal score line constituting a backbone line,said body portion further having a front boundary extendingperpendicularly to said backbone line, said body portion further havingformed therein score lines constituting substantially the sides of anisosceles triangle based on said front boundary and hav ing its apex onsaid backbone line, said body portion further having formed therein atsaid apex an opening in the shape of a rearward pointing arrow head andshaft symmetrically disposed on said backbone line, said blank furthercomprising two integral nacelle tabs, said tabs comprising triangularportions adjacent said body portion, said body portion furthercomprising adjacent said tabs short boundary portions extendingsubstantially perpendicular to the side boundaries of said body portion,said triangular portions comprising portions projecting beyond saidshort boundary portions, one of said nacelle tabs comprising a slitformed therein along part of its inner boundary and further comprising apolygonal outer portion, the other said nacelle tab comprising a locktab on its outer boundary, a rectangular strip rearwardly adjacent saidtriangular portion, a further triangular portion to the rear of saidrectangular strip and terminal tab portions outward of said secondmentioned triangular portion, said body portion further having formedtherein slits adapted to receive a wing portion, slits adapted toreceive an elevator portion, and slits located on said backbone line andadapted to receive a rudder portion, said body portion further having arear portion in the shape of a blunt trefoil.

6. A toy aeroplane comprising a body folded along a median longitudinalline to produce a substantially triangular cross sectional aspect, saidbody comprising corresponding and interlocking tabs, each of said tabsbeing integral with said body and extending therealong for the entirelength of the tab, one of said interlocking tabs including a pair ofangularly disposed edges and a catch tab formed at the juncture of saidedges, the other of said tabs comprising a triangular portion hinged atits base and a pair of terminal tabs hinged one at each of the othersides of the triangular portion, the said terminal tabs being separatedby a slot formed therebetween, the said triangular portion, terminaltabs and slot in combination with the aforementioned angularly disposededges and catch tab forming jamming means between the said interlockingtabs.

7. In a toy aeroplane having a body portion and wing portions; astationary propeller shaft disposed on one of the portions andprotruding therefrom, a propeller for the shaft, the propeller having ahub and blades, the hub being rotatable and slidable on the shaft, abent plate disposed in the portions and coacting with the propeller, theplate comprising a pair of angularly disposed surfaces, the juncture ofthe surfaces having a recess coasting with the hub of the propeller.

8. A toy aeroplane, comprising, in combination, a Wing portion, saidwing portion having openings formed therein on opposite sides of thelongitudinal center line of the aeroplane and to the side of the centerof gravity of the aeroplane, and a cord extending slidably downwardlythrough one of said openings and upwardly and out of the other opening,one end of the cord being knotted and engaging the Walls of one of saidopenings.

JOHN R. HARRIS.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS NumberName Date 1,542,197 Weber June 16, 1925 Number 10 Name Date DempsterNov. 2, 1926 Harris Sept. 16, 1930 Marcus June 25, 1935 Stockham Mar.25, 1941 West July 29, 1941 Haifiey Nov. 23, 1943 McCoy July 25, 1944Rossiter Mar. 19, 1946

